


Disenthrall

by Sourest_Cherry_Scone_Baby



Category: Captive Prince - C. S. Pacat
Genre: Angst, Auguste was a good brother, Gen, I want to hug him and Laurent, M/M, Takes place in Kings Rising
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-23
Updated: 2019-12-23
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:40:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21912307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sourest_Cherry_Scone_Baby/pseuds/Sourest_Cherry_Scone_Baby
Summary: Laurent is in an emotional turmoil. He's in love with his brother's killer and he thinks it's an unforgivable crime. Comfort comes from somewhere he least expects to.
Relationships: Auguste & Laurent (Captive Prince), Damen/Laurent (Captive Prince)
Comments: 14
Kudos: 60





	Disenthrall

**Author's Note:**

> My first Captive Prince fanfic💖 show me some love :D  
> Anyways Mrs_ZombieOctopus was so kind and sweet and encouraging!! I freaking love you dude!!!

"Do you hate me?"

The words were out of his lips, without any prelude. It laid him bare, all his emotions, turmoil, confusion, and gut wrenching pain were out in a matter of a few words. It did not matter though, it did not matter that he was so vulnerable because he was with Auguste, his dear, dear brother Auguste, who would never exploit his weaknesses. His brother had been the only person who had known him completely. The only person who had known how he was without his walls up around him, without his emotions hidden and locked away, without his stone cold words lashing out on the untrustworthy people who surrounded him.

Besides, it was a dream because Auguste was long gone from his life. Snatched away by cruel and vicious death when he had been a young boy of thirteen, losing him almost at the same time he lost his father. The horrors he had to go through after that, after the deaths of his father and brother, was something that still made Laurent sick to his stomach. Sometimes he could still feel those hands on his body and it made his skin crawl, sending shivers down his body, making him feel small, fragile and powerless. He hated that feeling. He hated that his uncle made him feel like that. No matter how ruthless and cold and headstrong he appeared to everyone around him, he knew that a part of him, no matter how small, was still terrified of that man who had used him.

"Why should I?"

Auguste came closer to Laurent and sat down beside him. Laurent had not realised that he had been sitting, since this was a dream. Everything was always so hazy and distant in dreams. He didn't know where he was either or how his surroundings were, but he did not feel any obligation to know that. Auguste was sitting next to him and that was enough.

Auguste looked exactly how he had looked when Laurent had turned twelve, perhaps because that day had been the happiest day of his life since he had had his brother's complete and undivided attention for one whole day for the last time. Even Auguste's clothes looked the same. Deep blue with silver. His hair was exactly the same golden yellow and his skin, the same shade of ivory. He looked strikingly similar to his younger brother, who was no longer a child. Except Auguste was soft everywhere his brother was harsh, warm everywhere his brother was cold, light everywhere his brother was dark. Laurent could have been completely like his brother, warm and soft and light, except he had become a victim of the viciously cruel world.

"Because I love him. He _killed_ you."

Auguste shifted and draped a hand over his brother's shoulder. It was so hauntingly and achingly familiar that Laurent was gutted with grief. He was so close and yet, he knew, so distant. The warmth and comfort he had known till _that_ day came rushing back to him by a simple action. Laurent leaned into his brother's warmth without even thinking about it.

"Laurent, when you were born and I saw you for the very first time," said Auguste in a soft, steady tone, "I made a promise to myself because the moment I saw you, I knew I could never love anyone more. Not even mother and father."

Laurent drew in a breath of air sharply as his eyes stung with unshed tears. Emotions of all kind, but above all unspeakable love and sorrow, welled up inside him. He turned sideways to look at his brother, his eyes wet but quizzical. Auguste had a soft and sad smile, as he gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze.

"A promise?" Laurent asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Yes, a promise. I promised myself that I will protect you, always, from any harm. I promised that I would be there for you forever. I promised myself that I would never ever desert you."

There was a pause and Laurent couldn't help it. He gave a quiet, muffled sob and the tears he had been holding back fell down his face in a steady stream. It was true, for Auguste had never let his brother face even the slightest discomfort. Their father would chide his eldest son that he was making his brother weak and dependent by doing that but Laurent had known that it was not true because his elder brother, in his own protective way, would teach him all that there was to be taught.

Auguste's grip on his shoulder tightened slightly before he gave a long, tired sigh. His voice was weary as he started to speak again.

"I failed. I couldn't keep my promise. Because I left. Because I wasn't able to protect you from _him_. I wasn't there for you when you needed me the most. I wasn't there for you when you were young and alone. I couldn't keep my promise. I couldn't protect you. And believe me, little brother, if you hate me for that, I will not resent you."

For a moment Laurent sat stunned. Even his tears stopped. He had never blamed his brother for what had happened to him, not even when he had been repeatedly raped and used like a toy by his uncle. He had cursed his fate, he had cursed the Akielons especially their crown prince, Damianos, but he had _never_ ever blamed his brother.

"But it wasn't your fault!" Laurent protested. "It wasn't your fault that you- what happened to you in Marlas, it wasn't your fault! You couldn't do anything about it. I don't hate you. I can't hate you. I love you. I always had and I always will. It wasn't your fault!"

_"Exactly."_

"What? I don't understand what you mean by that."

Laurent had turned his head sharply to look at his brother only to find him already smiling at him. It was the same smile which he would give him when he would beg Auguste for one more horseback ride, when he would ask Auguste to not tell his father about some wrong he did, when he would ask Auguste to play with him for just five more minutes.

It made his heart break.

Auguste laced his hand with his brother's and gave it a light squeeze before clapping his back gently.

"Exactly. It is not my fault that I died like it is not your fault that you fell for Damen. Love works like that. You cannot control who you love. Matters of the heart cannot be solved by the mind, remember that. You have always had a brilliant mind, Laurent, and just for this once, see what your heart can do. I know that you hate it when your body and soul are no longer under the control of your mind but let your heart take over this time. Let your heart direct you, for once."

There was a long pause during which Laurent went rigid with shock and he stared at his brother, unable to believe what he had just heard.

"And..." Auguste said, haltingly "I don't hate you and neither do I hate him. I know what he did to me, but he was trying to protect his home and his kingdom, like I was trying to protect mine. I did hate him for sometime, I confess that, because you were suffering and I couldn't do anything except watch helplessly. I hated him then. But now..."

"Now?" Laurent asked, quietly. He knew that this was a dream, that he was not actually talking to his brother and whatever his brother was saying was probably just his mind making up things in a desperate bid to calm him down.

"Now I don't. Because I know, that if there is someone who can keep my promise, it is him. Has he not protected you, at every step? Has he ever turned his back on you when you needed him? And Laurent, mark my words, if you will allow him, he will stay with you forever as well. How can I hate him after that? Damen is the only person who can treat you with all the love and grace you do deserve. Don't push him away and don't try to hate him for what happened in the past. I know it will be difficult but I love you. I can't hate you either."

There was a long silence during which Laurent sat with his chin placed on his hand, his mind working furiously, and Auguste hummed a little tune, looking into the distance, smiling softly.

"This is just a dream." Laurent said at long last, his voice quiet. "This is just a dream. How can I believe that what you said to me, is not something that my mind made up? How can I believe that you meant what you said? How can I believe that this was all real? How can I believe that you were actually here?"

"You are right because this is a dream. But why can it not be real? Aren't dreams real sometimes? Who even knows what dreams actually are? All I know is that I am here, with you. And all you should know that is this meeting was not something your brilliant mind made up."

Auguste tapped his brother's forehead who blinked and was at a loss of words. So this was a dream but it was also real. The idea was strange as he had always thought of dreams as an inconvenience because both his good ones and bad ones would leave him feeling miserable. His dreams more often than not involved Auguste. The only thing was that his good dreams would remind him of all that he had lost and his bad ones would remind him of all that he had been unable to do to prevent those losses and all that he could still lose.

"Don't think so much. You will make the right decision, you always do." Auguste said affectionately. Then in a more serious tone, he said, "You will do well."

Laurent could only nod and realised that the last sentence was not spoken in context to Damen.

"Believe me, he can never win. You will get what you deserve and what you want. The people love their crown prince and have faith in you. You have them and you have Damen. He cannot defeat you. You will win."

A small smile spread on his lips as he looked at his elder brother, grateful for his support. He knew that whatever he had said was true and yet when his brother said it, there was a solid finality to it. Auguste gave him an encouraging nod and ruffled his hair, like he used to do whenever Laurent would defeat him in a game of chess or do exceptionally well during his lessons.

"I must leave now."

Auguste got up and then stood before his brother and looked down at him, smiling sadly. Laurent gulped, holding back a sob, unable to believe that his brother had to leave him so soon. He got up and Auguste embraced him warmly, and then kissed his forehead in a manner of blessing.

"Remember what I said." His voice was getting fainter with every passing second. "Do not forget. I love you, Laurent."

The wind carried away the last of his words and Laurent stood alone, suddenly feeling cold. He closed his eyes blinking back his tears, and when he opened them again, he was in the guest chamber at Marlas. He slid out of his bed and padded across the room and entered the balcony.

The cool breeze that was blowing outside soothed his mind and his body. He felt the tension in his muscles release little by little until he was leaning against the wall, his face wet with tears.

_If you will allow him, he will stay with you forever._

Maybe he would but he wasn't sure. He still wasn't. He was trying not to think about it with his tactical mind, rather he was trying to think about it using his heart, like Auguste had told him to but it was rather difficult. He hardly ever made any rash decisions and was pretty sure that rash decisions were made by the heart.

But was this a rash decision? Was allowing Damen to stay a rash decision?

_Let your heart direct you, for once._

For once.

Laurent looked out at the starry sky, feeling better bit by bit as he replayed the conversation in his head again and again.

_Damen is the only person who can treat you with all the love and grace you do deserve._

A brother for a lover. Laurent didn't know what to think. _A brother for a lover._ Auguste had made it sound so easy. He didn't know if it really was. He knew time would tell, whether he would make that exchange.

_You will make the right decision, you always do._

Laurent knew he would. But now was not the time. Right now, he was going to get his kingdom back and get back what was his. Right now, he was probably going to think about all the strategies that need to be made, all that he needed to do.

It was easier.

 _You will do well_.

He really hoped that he would and maybe he would. Because, as Auguste had told him, Damen would never turn his back on him.

**Author's Note:**

> :') Why did Auguste die?


End file.
